Ravioli Grapple: Pizza a Metro vs VinciTorio's Restaurant

Stuffed pastas come in many forms with the flavors and sauces limited only by one's imagination. An all-time favorite for us: ravioli. We're not talking about the popularized canned stuff by Chef Boyardee. We want the cloud-like fluffiness that comes when you make ravioli from scratch.

The Set-up: Next to a Dollar (plus) store and Circle K, you'll find a 20-seater restaurant. When you order ravioli, you'll get five large squares of handmade ravioli stuffed with ricotta and smothered in sauce (you have a choice of sauce: we went with the pink vodka sauce) garnished with shredded basil.Pros: Light and fluffy, the handcrafted ravioli practically melts in your mouth. The pink vodka sauce coated each bite packing a little tang from the tomato's natural acids and plenty of creaminess to round it out. A great lunch item.Cons: The presentation is a little hard to stomach from the color of the sauce to the way it's blobbed on the plate. Luckily the ravioli tastes worlds better than it looks.

The Set-up: In a strip mall adjacent to the old Tempe Cinemas "dollar" theater, you'll find a husband and wife operation. Order their most popular pasta, and you'll recieve five heart shaped ravioli filled with butternut squash and a total of four different cheeses. Gorgonzola and pecorino make up the cheesy sauce while ricotta and mascarpone are blended with the butternut filling.Pros: The mascarpone cheese adds a touch of sweetness to the already delectable butternut squash. Just imagine when the butternut is in season and full flavorful swing! Wowza. We wondered if the heart shaped pasta was presented specifically to couples and found out the pasta symbol of love is shared with everyone, all year long.Cons: The dish was a bit over the top rich. We understand that some people find that richness to be desirable, but we could barely finish 3 of the 5 ravioli.

The Verdict: Pizza a Metro is where we'll rest our fork. We loved the warm atmosphere of VinciTorio's, but Pizza a metro was equally as inviting and twice as fluffy.